


en garde

by rosegoldblood



Series: head in the game [1]
Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Explicit Language, F/F, Fencing, Prom, School Dances, Song: Strawberry Blond (Mitski), this is so teen fiction and unbearably cliche <3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:15:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27591910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosegoldblood/pseuds/rosegoldblood
Summary: it isn't too easy being the student body president and the star fencer on the fencing team, but reyna manages; even without any help. that is, until the fencing championship raises its stakes, and the upcoming prom seems to be the biggest one yet - and reyna starts to crack under the pressure.
Relationships: Piper McLean/Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano
Series: head in the game [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1991980
Comments: 16
Kudos: 55





	en garde

**Author's Note:**

> written while listening to strawberry blond on repeat, because duh.  
> read my [carrd](https://rosegoldblood.carrd.co) for my socials and stuff about me.

" _allez!"_

reyna lunged forward, fingers curled tight around her épée grip. her opponent dodged left as she jabbed right, and tried to stab their own sword at her. she turned to the side, letting the point skim past, before poking her sword tip into the fabric.

a beep sounded through the room. "reyna wins!" frank announced, voice cheerful, "as usual. good job, both of you!" he clapped and pressed a button on his remote, resetting the scoreboard back to zero for both of them.

with a tug, reyna pulled her helmet off, tucking it under her right arm and extending her left. "nice work, tanaka," she said coolly, watching as drew also pulled off her helmet. "you were only two points away. don't beat yourself up," she added, knowing that drew had the tendency to be a little too hard on herself.

"whatever," drew snapped, unhooking her wire from her fencing jacket. she sighed. "and... good job to you too. at least we'll have another championship in the bag this year." with a shrug and a flip of her hair behind her shoulder, drew walked off.

reyna turned toward the benches, about to brag about her victory to frank, though she faltered when she saw him frowning at something on his phone. he was sitting on a bench, leaning against one of the pillars, jumping when she walked over.

"why the long face, zhang?" she asked, leaning against the pillar and peering over his shoulder, though her dyslexia made the text hard to read. "is that... an e-mail from the school?"

"yeah," he said, "bad news, reyna. the school - they're going to shut down the fencing club." reyna's eyes widened. "apparently, we're too small of a club, plus we're using up a lot of the school funds for the jackets and sensors. and drew doesn't even have her own sword."

"sorry," drew muttered, who'd appeared to listen to frank share the news, "money's tight right now."

frank patted her on the back comfortingly. "it's not your fault, drew," he reassured her, "anyway. they say that all the funds going to us will be going to the football team, so. that's that, i guess." reyna rolled her eyes. "unless we can gather enough money to -"

"alright," reyna interrupted, thumping frank on the back as he walked away, unzipping her fencing jacket. "the tournament in a month has a six-hundred dollar prize. that'll be more than enough to convince the school that we're fine, we don't need to be shut down."

there was silence as reyna packed up her bag. even drew, who was usually so sardonic and snappy, seemed unsure of what to say, staring confusedly at reyna like she hadn't heard correctly. "um," she started, "isn't that the international one?"

"yes."

she scratched the back of her neck. "reyna, you're a really good fencer," drew admitted, "but, like, don't you think it's a little... stupid to have the fate of this club rest on whether you win this or not? maybe we can talk to the principal about it instead." frank nodded along.

with a raise of her eyebrows reyna turned to the both of them. "you're saying i can't win this tournament?" she asked, knowing full well she was putting them on the spot. frank blushed and stammered. "relax, i was joking. i'll talk to the principal, see what i can do about it."

reyna didn't want to think about what she would do if the principal refused to budge. she knew that a lot of funds were poured into the football team for the school's image, leaving the rest of the sports teams and the art clubs with significantly less.

ever since she'd been elected student president, reyna had been trying her best to spread the money for clubs around more evenly. but she guessed there were just some things that couldn't be helped. though out of everything, why this? why the club that had helped her feel happy at her darkest moments, pulled her out of her slump just a year ago? she was the founder of this place.

what kind of leader would she be if she let it die?

"club meeting dismissed," she called back as she hiked up the stairs, scuffing the tips of her sneakers against the tiles.

a bad one, that was for sure.

★彡

jason leaned over and tapped at the paper in front of reyna with his pen. "so frank had this idea," he said, sipping at his lemonade, "to make an anonymous message box that we would read over the intercom every week? heh, good for love confessions and all that."

"sounds like a good idea so far," reyna remarked. she stirred sugar into her black coffee and hummed. "have you guys already figured out the mechanics of it, or can we do that now?" 

"not the whole thing yet, but we've got a vague idea. well, it was mostly him," jason admitted, drawing nonsense scribbles over the paper, "for a newbie, he's pretty smart. intuitive, too. and a good leader."

with a sip of her coffee, reyna laughed. "newbie? jason, this is his second year."

"i'm an old man." reyna laughed again. it'd been a while since she and jason could have a moment alone together, and it was nice - sitting in front of a coffee shop with her boyfriend and letting the wind blow through her hair. "when i'm not on the council anymore, he'd make a good president, i think."

"when you're not on the council anymore?" reyna asked, tracing shapes with her finger on the wooden table.

jason sighed and nodded, staring at the glass windows of the cafe. "i'm gonna have to study a lot for the final year. i don't think i can handle that _and_ the council. i've never been good at multitasking." his eyes snapped back to reyna. "but that's two years from now. i'll still be running next year!"

she heaved a sigh of relief. "that's good. i was afraid that i'd be losing my co-president for a second there." reyna tapped at the paper again. "okay. we're getting off-track. anonymous message box for things like... love confessions?"

"sure wish i had that," jason said, uncharacteristically dreamy. reyna raised her eyebrows.

"well, i'm here now. i don't think you're going to be needing it any time soon," she said, and jason seemed to snap out of his daze. "are you okay?" jason didn't zone out much, always so determined and drived. so when he did, reyna got a bit worried.

"i'm fine, reyna. thanks. was just a little distracted today. but here's what we've got so far." okay, he was back on track. reyna bit at her lip and nodded - it was important to not get too sidetracked. "we'll put a box somewhere - cafeteria, maybe? somewhere accessible. and provide a pen and some papers. they'd write, and put it into the box, but..." jason picked up his fork and twirled it. "would they have to pay?"

reyna hummed and considered it. "sure, but how would we monitor that? there would have to be someone manning the stand at all times." she took another drink of coffee, before an idea popped into her mind. "oh! prom's coming up. maybe we could do these only for promposals?"

at this, jason clapped and straightened in his seat. "yeah! oh, that's brilliant, reyna." he leaned over and squished her cheeks. if it were anyone else, reyna would've instantly smacked those hands off her face, but it was _jason._ she smiled as best as she could with her face squished. 

she looked down at her phone, eyes widening when she saw the time. it was nearing six, and when she looked up at the skyline, the sun was indeed beginning to set. it was beautiful - strips of orange and pink, blending into each other in the sky.

"sun's about to set," she noted, and jason nodded, looking toward the warm, colourful sky. "i should go home, help hylla prepare for dinner. we can text, though! i'd love that. maybe even call?"

jason brightened up and nodded, smiling wide. "yeah! whenever you're available. i know things are a little busy at home." he ate his last bite of quiche and stood up, chair scraping back. "i'll see you at school?"

reyna nodded and swung her bag across her back. "bye, jace," she said, loving the way the nickname rolled of her tongue - their nickname. no one else used it, not jason's friends or his sister. just her, only reyna.

she didn't have many things for herself, so the few things she had...

well. it was nice, to say the least.

★彡

"welcome home, _niña_ ," hylla said as reyna shut the door behind her. 

"need any help with dinner?" reyna asked, despite the fact that hylla seemed to be handling it just fine, stirring a boiling pot of pasta. she dumped her backpack and a plastic bag full of groceries on the floor. 

hylla shook her head, opening the drawer on the wall to grab a few plates. "nah. i got it. you go take a shower." reyna nodded and started to hike up the stairs. "had a nice time with your boyfriend?" she teased, and reyna blushed. "i don't get what you see in him. or men in general. or... people."

as a response, reyna just laughed. "you're a cynic, hy."

"you know it _._ now go take a shower, you stink."

with an exasperated smile and a shake of her head, reyna obliged, bounding up the stairs to her room. people asked if it got lonely - with only her sister, and their mother coming around once every few months to give them money - and while reyna wished her family was healthier, more complete...

it wasn't lonely. because she had hylla, who, despite all the cynicism and playful insults, loved reyna dearly. took care of her ever since they were children, until reyna resolved that to make things easier on hylla she'd start depending on herself. and so she did.

besides, she had her friends. frank, annabeth, drew. and her boyfriend (she still couldn't believe jason was her _boyfriend_ ) (yes, it had been three years now, but still) jason, who was always so sweet to her in a way that no one else was.

she entered the bathroom, tapping her fingers against the knob. _"do you really love him?_ " hylla had asked a day after they'd gotten together, _"or are you just dating him because you feel obliged to? because he's a boy? because you want to tick 'having a boyfriend' of your list?"_

the comment had made reyna angry, but she knew hylla meant well. so all she said was, _"i know you care about me, hylla. but this time, you're wrong._ " because she did love jason, with her whole heart and her head.

despite that, the question had stayed in her mind. in a mocking way, of course, because hylla really was wrong. of course reyna loved jason.

it was in the contract.

reyna stepped out of the shower and slipped on a black pyjama shirt and shorts. she set her sword on top of her drawer and opened up her laptop on her desk right next to it. her room was small and cramped, barely any room between the drawer, the bed, and the table, but she liked it that way.

cozy. comfortable. she had never liked places that felt too big for her to be in.

_we can place the boxes a week or two before prom,_ reyna texted jason, hands flying across her keyboard, _i'm sure hazel would agree to monitoring the sales if she is available._ then, after a moment of consideration, _i can't talk for long since i have homework. but i'll see you tomorrow. i love you._

she ended it with a _:]_ , a smiley face that leo had taught her how to use (he was right, actually, they were really fun). jason went online, and reyna smiled, pulling out her spiral notebook and maths book to get started on her homework.

_sounds good. ilyt, rey._

reyna furrowed her eyebrows - jason never used abbreviations. but, well, if she was starting to use emoticons, jason could use text shortenings. even if reyna thought they were annoying and unprofessional. she could make a pass for her boyfriend.

after a few minutes of work, hylla creaked open the door and peered through it. "dinner's ready. come eat soon, _niña._ " reyna nodded, and hylla smiled and ruffled her hair before walking off down the stairs. reyna clicked her pen and watched her leave, the warm feeling of contentment in her heart.

no, she wasn't lonely at all.

★彡

reyna was a calm person.

that is to say, she didn't get too angry at a lot of things. annoyed? yes. passive-aggressive? definitely. but outright mad and hostile? never. feelings weren't very good things to rely on and she knew that, so whenever she got too irritated she reminded herself to _calm down._

this time, it didn't work. because above all - above chewing gum noisily and the word 'moist' and that nasty, nasty lasagna that they served in the cafeteria - there was one thing, one thing reyna hated. 

the slamming of locker doors.

"mclean!" reyna huffed, and the mclean in question turned around, the incessant whir of her fidget spinner not stopping. "could you not do that, please? i would rather not waste money on replacing the lockers _again._ "

"oh, the slamming thing." piper bit the inside of her cheek before grinning. she had choppy dark brown hair that barely reached her shoulders, and was wearing a lemon yellow collared dress that would've looked nice if she wasn't also wearing a terrible orange denim jacket over it. "sure, i won't do it anymore. all you had to do was ask."

reyna sighed, massaging the bridge of her nose, admitting to herself that maybe she'd been a bit brash. "i hope you stick to it this time," she said, and piper just hummed and spun her spinner again. "how is your play going?"

piper perked up. talking about theatre always had her excited. "it's going great. we're rehearsing the final scene, and the final musical number," she rambled, "you should see annabeth and nico's work on the costumes and lights... oh, do you know if jason will be there?"

she frowned. "um, i'm not sure. you know, prom's already coming up, and we need to plan..."

"oh, of course. but like, i hope jason and you come. i'll even buy tickets," piper offered, which was rare. she wasn't mean or aggressive by any means, but she _was_ snarky, and never this nice and hopeful. reyna narrowed her eyes.

"are you trying to make a move on my boyfriend?"

there was an awkward silence in which piper blushed, and then blanched, fingers twitching. "i think you've - uh -" she stammered, then swallowed, "misread - well - i - no! i'm not making a pass at jason, i promise!" she flapped her arms.

her stutter was really bad, which was answer enough for reyna. but she knew jason would never do that, so she let it slide - besides, it wasn't like piper could control her crush. reyna just had to... make sure the two weren't hanging out too much.

"well, alright then. i should be going now, but..."

"i have rehearsal after last period," piper said, "i'd love it if you came. maybe jason can come along?" she added, almost as an afterthought. reyna raised her eyebrows. "if you're not busy with... council stuff." she gestured vaguely.

well, that was weird. why would piper invite reyna, too? they weren't enemies, but they weren't exactly close - most of their interactions were borne of reyna getting mad at her somehow, including this one. maybe she was just too shy to talk to jason...

"sure, mclean. i'll see if i'm - i'll see if we're free."

the second the words fell from her mouth, reyna wondered why the hell she'd said that. piper, on the other hand, smiled and clapped reyna on the back before walking away.

"great! i'll see you then!"

★彡

why was she doing this?

the only reason piper had invited reyna was because she wanted jason to come, and reyna _knew_ that. she did. except now, when jason was too busy doing something else, and she was still coming to the rehearsal. why? why? piper didn't even want her here.

but what did she care what piper thought? reyna fiddled with her fingers as she walked in. the rehearsal was open to everybody, so what did it matter if she was in it alone? besides, she wasn't just here to see piper. she was the student body president, she was just overseeing this to make sure things went smoothly. it didn't matter. no one cared.

so why was she still thinking about this?

"oh, reyna, you're here!" piper said from way across the theatre. her voice echoed. the ceiling was high, stretching wide above reyna, and the rows and rows of chairs in front of her were all empty. 

there were footsteps, and then piper was there, arms spread wide. she blinked, seeming to notice that jason wasn't there, but piper didn't stop smiling. "i'm glad you made it! my scene's just about to begin. i'm singing a song by mitski. take a seat." piper winked. "front row. lucky you."

reyna found herself blushing, though she didn't know why. she made her way to the front row as piper ran backstage, and the curtains slid open just as reyna took her seat, watching piper and another boy - vaguely recalling that his name was will, or something - take their places on stage.

as much as she hated to admit it, the play was good. piper, annabeth, and percy had co-written it. some kind of romance, reyna recalled, or at least that was what it seemed like. a romance with swords and ships. piper had always had a fondness for the fantastical.

on stage, will strummed a guitar, and piper started to sing. 

here was the thing: piper was annoyingly good at singing. her voice was lovely, borderline angelic - whether it was a high pitch or a low pitch or somewhere in between. it was like velvet coated in honey, so smooth, and rough brown wood, hoarse when she wanted it to be.

it was impressive. reyna leaned forward in her seat as piper twirled around on stage. she was supposedly singing to will, but she was nowhere near looking at him. " _look at you, strawberry blond,_ " she burst into chorus, " _fields rolling on, i love it when you call my name._ "

her bright brown eyes landed on reyna, dark hair flowing behind as she raised an arm dramatically. it was like reyna was... entraptured. it was surreal. she couldn't look away, like she was under a spell. maybe that's what it was.

" _can you hear the bumblebees swarm?_ " piper sang, voice going high and sweet on the last syllable, " _watching your arm, i love it when you look my way..._ "

she continued like this throughout the whole song. dramatic enough to be entertaining and poetic, but not dramatic enough to be ridiculous. no wonder piper was admired by all - she was beautiful and nice and talented.

and throughout the whole song, her eyes never left reyna.

★彡

they were walking along the pavement. it was dark, and the sun had already set, leaving only a few strips of yellow and orange behind in the navy blue sky.

rehearsal had ended early - though the scene wasn't too long, reyna couldn't help but stick around until piper was dismissed, too. she had her own car, though, so reyna and jason were alone. reyna was a little grateful for that.

piper was great, but her crush on jason made reyna a little nervous.

"so, how was the scene rehearsal?" jason asked, snapping reyna out of her daze. "sorry i couldn't come, by the way. i would have, but... you know. stuff came up, you know how it is." reyna nodded.

"it was okay," she said, "things seem to be going smoothly. and mclean..." _she's amazing. she's beautiful. her voice is akin to that of an angel's, and she made that theatre feel like magic. also, can you not look at her too much?_ "is insufferably good at singing, as always."

jason laughed, buttery and warm. like home. "insufferably, huh? i never knew why you had such a problem with her."

reyna shrugged. "i don't," she said earnestly, crossing her arms as their shoes pattered against the pavement. "she's nice. she's smart... when she tries. i just think that sometimes -" she jumped over a puddle, "- she can be a little immature."

she also had an extensive collection of fidget spinners, though that was more something reyna admired than something she was annoyed by. 

"immature, huh," jason said, and the weird tone of his voice made reyna raise her eyebrows, "oh, it's nothing. i guess i can see why you'd think that. i just think you work really hard, reyna, and that's awesome, but you gotta learn to let loose sometimes. like piper."

now she was bristling like she was under attack. "are you saying piper's better than me?" reyna asked, and though her tone was joking she was still a little curious, relieved when jason shook his head and laughed. 

"i'm just saying that you could stand to be a little immature, if that's what you call it." jason wrapped his arm around reyna and pulled her tight against him. "but no matter what, you know i'll love you. rara." 

he poked her cheek, and she laughed as she swatted it away. reyna opened her mouth to respond, but her phone pinged, and she slipped it out of her pocket before swearing. it was from hazel.

_so sorry but i dont think ill have time to design the fliers today. i can do them tomorrow and fax them to show you the day after that? sorry again :']_

reyna let a swear slip out of her mouth, and jason's eyes widened as he craned his neck over to see what was on the screen. "didn't chiron say he needed them by the end of this school week? the day after tomorrow would be saturday," he noted.

"thank you, jason, i can count," she said curtly, and jason reeled back, hands raised in the ear. "sorry about that. just a little stressed. what should we do? who's good with graphic design, and is available at this hour?" she bit her nail. 

"i could ask leo, but he's not on the council. is that, like, allowed?" jason asked, and reyna shrugged before shaking her head, still chewing at her nail. "you could always ask chiron for an extension. it's a one-day difference, it won't matter."

"you think?" reyna asked hopefully.

they stopped at her house, standing in front of the steps leading up to the door, the cramped front porch illuminated by a small lamp hanging from the roof of it. if hazel was free tomorrow... she supposed it'd work, but reyna didn't want to make chiron wait, either...

jason nodded and punched her playfully in the shoulder. "of course. i'm sure hazel will be free tomorrow. oh, or maybe you could go to her house and go to the print shop yourself? you can use a memory stick or someth -"

"that's it!" reyna yelped, reaching over to give jason a kiss. he blushed before ruffling his own hair and grinning. "i'll do that tomorrow! right. thank you, jace, you're brilliant."

she stepped back toward the door. "thanks," she repeated, "i owe you. i'll see you tomorrow, okay?" jason laughed and nodded as reyna jammed her key into the keyhole and the door swung open, stepping in, turning back for a second to wave.

"i love you," jason called. 

reyna did nothing but smile.

★彡

"oh, fuck!"

"reyna! don't cuss around the house!" hylla snapped, before coming over to ruffle reyna's hair. "what's wrong?" 

in response, reyna groaned and slammed her face into the dinner table. hylla laughed, though it faded into a frown when she saw the text on reyna's phone. " _are you coming to fencing practice today?_ " she read out loud, "aren't you supposed to be picking up that girl hazel's -"

"yes!" reyna cried, placing her face into her hands. "i can't believe i forgot. i'm the captain, frank and drew - well, i'm sure they'll be fine without me, but - oh, no. who'll be the referee? this is terrible. it -"

"- will all be okay," hylla interrupted, "you can go print it out after practice, no?"

reyna sighed, dejected. "well, yes, but it's already... it's already three, hylla. practice usually lasts more than two hours, i won't have much time to go to the prints shop. ugh." she rubbed at her eyes. "this is the worst. can you help?"

"no," hylla laughed, just as reyna had expected, "sorry, _niña,_ but i don't care that much. besides, i have practice, too, and loads of homework this weekend." she smiled sadly. "sorry. i hope you figure things out, though."

"you're a dick, hy," reyna groaned again, knowing full well she would've done the same in hylla's position. " _ya me llevó la chingada_. what am i going to do?" hylla shrugged, tucking her hands into her pockets and walking back into her room.

she supposed she'd go to practice first. after that, she could drive by hazel's and then to the printer's. the print shop was close to her but far from hazel, but maybe if she took a detour from the field...

with a decisive sigh reyna looped her bag around her shoulder and walked out, locking the door behind her. it was a sunny day, a nice day, one that was perfect for taking a walk outside, or dates... she had no time for a date though.

right. so she'd go to the field first, meet up with frank and drew, and hopefully they'd handle well enough on their own so she could leave early. that sounded like a solid plan.

a car screeched to a stop beside her, and reyna tensed up, hands clenching into fists - though she relaxed when the window was rolled down.

piper mclean leaned out of the window, a smug smile on her face. reyna looked at the car and raised her eyebrow, speaking before piper could. "of course you drive a ford mustang," reyna said, tucking her hands into her jacket pockets.

she laughed internally as piper's face went through an array of emotions. "hey, you're a jock, i'm a theatre kid. you know what cars are, i don't. don't force your lifestyle onto me." 

reyna rolled her eyes. "how do you not know what kind of car you drive?" she asked. if she ever got a car, she'd probably want to know every single detail about it. 

(when she'd expressed that to hylla, her sister had called her a nerd. reyna was not a nerd. she was responsible and cared about maintenance.)

"nah, my dad bought it for me. i spray-painted it red myself, though." _clearly -_ the original black colour was still visible in some parts, bleeding through the coat of paint that had been clumsily sprayed over it. and her dad bought her this car. of course he had. 

_spoiled brat._ "lucky you," reyna said, though it came out more bitter than she'd intended. piper frowned, but reyna shook her head and continued. "anyway, what is it that you want, mclean? i'm a bit stressed at the moment."

"sheesh, yeah. i can tell. that's why i pulled over in the first place, wanted to ask what's wrong." the sincerity made reyna relax a little. "so... what's wrong?"

there was no reason to not tell piper, right? the girl was just trying to help. "it's nothing. i'm just... supposed to get the flyer designs from hazel and print them out by today, but i'm not sure if i can do it on time." 

"flyer designs? like, with a flash drive?" reyna nodded. "oh, alright then. i can drive on over to her's and do it for you! how many copies do you need? ten? twenty?"

"oh, only around five, since we're submitting them for approval - wait. you're doing it... for me?" it was like her brain couldn't register it, even as piper smiled from her car window. "but - but why? and i don't need your help. i can do it on my own."

piper raised her eyebrows. "really. that's why you looked like you were going to tear your hair out of stress just now." okay, fine, she couldn't deny it. but she'd be damned if she took help from anyone, least of all piper mclean. she didn't want to owe her. she didn't trust piper to do it right. and...

well, she could do things alone.

"i appreciate it, but -" the words felt like rocks and blood in her mouth, "- i don't need your help." piper drew away, looking hurt. "it's not you, i just - i can do this on my own. thanks anyway." she shouldered her bag and continued on without looking back.

a few moments later, the car sped by down the road until it was just a dot in the distance. 

★彡

with a clatter of metal and plastic, the score counter beeped. reyna pressed a button on it and clapped. "that was great, frank," she said graciously, as frank whipped his helmet off and smiled like a puppy dog, "tanaka, you need to practice more." 

drew tossed her own helmet off, her mouth dropping open. "i won the last three rounds!"

"and if you practiced more, you could've won all of them," reyna said, voice stern, as drew sighed. frank snickered into his hand beside her before reaching out to pat her on the back. 

"i think you did awesome, drew!" he said cheerily. she rolled her eyes and shoved him off, though reyna thought she caught a small smile on drew's face. "should we do another round? reyna, you haven't had one yet. want to do one with me?" he perked up.

reyna laughed and tucked her helmet underneath her arm, checking her phone for the time. her heart skipped a beat when she realised it was four. "oh, no. i have to go to hazel's - then print those flyer designs at the print shop - then go to the school to drop them off for chiron." she looked up at drew and frank, who both had wide eyes. "think i'll make it in time?"

the answers ranged from ' _maybe?_ ' from frank to a _'yikes_ ' from drew, which was pretty unanimous.

she sighed, ready to sprint back home for her motorbike, when something screeched to a stop on the road just outside the field. a familiar car sat there, and when the window rolled down, piper mclean was unsurprisingly wearing a smug smile on her face.

"what do you w -"

"m'lady," piper interrupted, brandishing a few sheets of paper. reyna's mouth dropped open when she realised what they were. "i know you said you didn't need help, but i had nothing better to do. well, except that bio project, but i'm procrastinating. at any rate, here you go."

both relief and anger flooded through reyna's heart as she took the fliers, tucking them under her arm before turning to piper and glaring. "i said i didn't need your help," she said, though she knew it was an absolute lie.

"what a shame, then," piper said, and it made reyna grit her teeth. why was this girl so annoyingly nice? "here, i'll pay you back by driving you to school. you still need to drop 'em off, right? hop in."

reyna sighed and looked back at drew and frank. frank gave a cheery thumbs up and drew gave a half-hearted shrug. she turned back to piper. "fine," she said. might as well put piper's fancy car to use. "you... are irritating," she remarked as she opened the car door and jumped in.

with a wave goodbye to drew and frank, piper started the engine once again, driving off down the street. "i've been told," she said, tapping her fingers against the wheel. even her humming was harmonious. 

as piper took a sharp turn, she tapped at something on her phone. a second later, _achilles, come down_ started to play from the car speakers. reyna let some of the tension in her shoulder blades go - piper had good taste in music, that was something.

they stopped in front of the school, and reyna unlocked the door, stepping out before rushing in to drop off the papers. chiron was just about to go home when she gave the fliers to him, with a nervous smile and an apology.

he'd accepted them wholeheartedly. when reyna stepped back outside, she'd expected piper to have driven away. this was a charity case, after all, why would she stay? but the car was still sitting there, blasting music as rain started to drizzle over them.

"you're... still here," she said hesitantly.

piper nodded, grinning. "i actually wanted to ask you to come along to starbucks with me. it's starting to rain, though, so i guess we'll have to drive-through." she softened. "please come. i mean, you don't have to if you don't want to, but i'd like to. you're cool, reyna."

it was starting to rain, anyway. reyna sighed and rounded around to jump into the front seat. piper smiled wide and stepped on the gas, and they were off. "so," she started, "how are things with you and jason?"

the question made reyna's blood run cold for a second. god, mclean was terrible at being subtle. "it's going great," she replied, and piper nodded. _now can you please stop asking, you're not going to get a chance with him,_ reyna wanted to say, but she held her tongue.

"you know, i watched this movie the other day," piper said, and reyna thought it was impressive, how smoothly and casually she could start a new conversation. "and it was so bad. like, laughably bad. you know when the main character clearly has so much chemistry with their best friend, but they force them with another character?"

"i hate it when they do that."

piper nodded, turning her windshield wipers on. "straights, am i right?"

at this, reyna's eyebrows shot up. "are you gay?" she asked, flushing. because if so, that changed everything - reyna had absolutely no reason to be wary of her, and that would be a little embarrassing.

"well, i'm pan," she answered, taking another turn. reyna breathed a sigh of both relief and worry. that could mean she was still after jason... "but, like, yeah. straight people. a bit weirdchamp."

"that's cool. i'm bi," reyna said, telling herself she should stop being so paranoid. piper was a nice girl, and even if she was into jason, it wasn't like jason would cheat. besides, she didn't want to be that kind of jealous, possessive girlfriend. she wanted to be a cool one, and by all means she was.

maybe she was overthinking it. she tended to do that.

"what do you want?" piper asked. reyna bit her lip and asked for her usual order. "right. just a black coffee, then, please," she told the employee through the drive-through radio. "right. yep. thank you!"

as they slowed to a stop waiting for their coffee, piper flushed a little, though that may have been reyna's imagination. "so you're bi, huh." she smiled. "good to know." she tapped her finger against the wheel again. "you have a sister, right?"

"yes," reyna answered, before elaborating - she was going to put _some_ effort into this conversation, damn it. "she's the only one around at home, and she's taken care of me ever since our dad... died, and our mother left."

"oh, man, that sucks, rey. i'm sorry."

_rey..._ "i suppose it does. but hylla loves me, and my mom drops by to give us money every few weeks, so. that's enough. i'm not lonely at all. not with jason and drew and frank and annabeth and..." she traced a pattern into her car seat, suddenly feeling self-conscious. "and you, i suppose."

to her surprise, piper was smiling wide. she reached over to hug reyna, and though reyna jolted in her seat, she didn't push piper away. usually personal space was important to her, but this felt... nice. this felt - different. 

piper opened her mouth, but just then, an employee called her name and she smiled apologetically, leaning back out the window to take their cups. reyna watched her thank the employee, with her lovely, clear brown skin, and dark hair tied up into a messy ponytail that was so appealing somehow. strands coming loose and falling around her face so perfectly.

reyna buried her face in her hands.

why were the worst things the most beautiful?

★彡

reyna tacked another banner to the wall, stepping back to look at it - faltering when she realised it was skewed. she sighed and removed the tack, ready to try again. 

the rented hotel hall was empty, almost eerily so. every time reyna moved, her footsteps would echo across the room. chairs were stacked up across the walls, balancing on top of each other. a few on top were tipping over precariously.

she was tired. there was no denying it. lavinia and dakota had come around to help earlier, but they had responsibilities of their own to get to, leaving reyna alone yet again. a dozen banners and streamers were strung across the walls, but her work was far from done.

but it didn't matter. she'd taken care of everything herself ever since she could, and she'd continue to do so, never mind the heaviness in her eyes and the soreness in her arms and feet. 

and that octavian... god, that guy was irritating. she knew he _did_ care, but of course he had to bail on reyna so she could do this shit all alone. _sure your debate club meeting coincided right when we were supposed to decorate the hall, octavian, even if we've discussed this meeting for weeks and absolutely no one on the debate club has told me there was a meeting today._

reyna gritted her teeth and told herself to calm down.

it had gone dark outside, but reyna didn't mind. she still had time. if she worked really hard, maybe she could do the whole wall within half an hour. with this as motivation, she yanked another tack out of the small box and punched it through the paper coating the walls.

reasonably she supposed she could just call - any one of her friends, really. she had no shortage of them. annabeth, leo, jason, nico. maybe even piper. they'd all be willing to help if they could. but what kind of student body president would she be if she really had to request their help? she could power through this. it wasn't too hard.

then her phone beeped.

with a stressed sigh, reyna sank the tack into the paper and slipped her hand into her pocket to answer the call. she smoothed back her hair when she saw the contact name: _jason._ (he had her in as _rey,_ with lots of heart emojis next to it, but she didn't really see the point). 

"hi," she said, voice strained. jason jumped right into his story, a confusing, winding series of events. his voice was cheery yet comforting at the same time as it always was, but this time reyna couldn't get herself to listen. she just wanted to get this done and go home.

"so i was wondering whether you wanted to come!" jason finished, and reyna sighed as she tried to sandwich her phone between her shoulder and her cheek, picking up another tack. "reyna?"

"huh? jason. i'm sorry, i can't. i just - i'm finishing this thing up in the hotel. for prom." _maybe i wouldn't take so long if you'd bothered to help._ she shook the thought away as jason talked. "no - no, i know. i'm almost done can you just -" she snapped, " _get off my back?"_

the line went silent, and regret washed through reyna. "oh, christ, jace. i'm sorry. i want to come, i just..." she poked the tack in. "i really can't. i'm sorry."

despite the fact that they were over the phone, reyna could pretty much feel the way jason was nodding. "no, yeah, that's okay. i shouldn't have pushed you. maybe tomorrow?" reyna had to visit chiron about the flyer designs the next day, but she didn't have enough energy to protest. "see ya, reyna. i love you."

"mmhm. bye." reyna let the phone drop onto the table and sighed, looking up at the half-decorated wall. 

she still had lots of work to do.

★彡

"you're off your game today," drew remarked. she leaned over to offer her hand to reyna. although she was so unbearably smug and cocky whenever she beat reyna, this time, her eyebrows were furrowed as if she were confused. "i've beaten you twice today. usually i don't beat you... ever."

"you don't say," reyna grumbled, wrapping her hand around drew's and letting the other haul reyna to her feet. "i don't - i'm just stressed. prom is less than a week away, the tournament is this month, and i can't -" she buried her face in her hands, "i'm sorry."

awkwardly, drew patted reyna on the back. reyna appreciated the thought. "pull yourself together," she said, and though the words were harsh drew's voice was gentler than usual. "yo, zhang! wanna have a match? cap's not being a very good opponent."

frank was texting on his phone, which was unusual, and he just muttered an "uh-huh, in a sec" in reply. even more unusual. drew marched over to him and leaned over to see his screen. he yanked it out of her sight. 

"what, you have something to hide?" drew asked, and the silliness of it all was enough to make even reyna laugh. frank just stuck his tongue out, a small smile on his face, as he tried to type and force drew out of his business at the same time. "who are you texting?! tell me!"

"you're nosy," he said without looking away, before shutting off his phone and slipping it onto a nearby table, "okay, now we can have a match."

drew stamped her feet like an angry bull, one with long black hair with pink streaks and a fencing jacket. "no! i don't want to have a match anymore! tell me who you're texting." frank laughed. "i'll strangle you!"

as drew attempted to do so, reyna's own phone started to ring. she calmed down on her laughter, pressing on the green button without looking at who it was. "hi, reyna," jason said cheerfully, and reyna massaged the bridge of her nose and smiled tiredly.

it wasn't that jason was annoying. far from it, really. but sometimes he was just so enthusiastic and bouncy when all reyna wanted to do was be efficient, and practical. it was a little overwhelming, especially when she was tired - like that night in the hall...

"last time you couldn't come, right, so i was hoping maybe today?" reyna sighed and looked back at drew and frank, who were still wrestling for the latter's phone. she had to practice as much as she could to prepare for the tournament, or else... or else. her club would fall apart. "it's a little bit of a drive, but -"

"no," reyna interrupted, "i'm - i'm really sorry, jason, i know i promised today, but... you know i have a lot to prepare for. the tournament, the prom, it's just... a lot. i'm with the drew and frank right now."

who, speaking of, had ceased their fighting to listen to reyna speaking. it made her self-conscious.

on the other side she heard jason sigh. "i know, ra. trust me. i'm not a part of any sports clubs anymore, but it doesn't mean i don't know what it's like. seventh grade, remember?" her shoulders slumped. "you should take a break."

"i can't, jace."

"you can and you should. you work yourself too hard sometimes, i swear. even last night with the prom decorating - we still have time, ra, you don't have to panic about everything or handle everything yourself. i'm here for you. that's what we're for."

reyna gripped her phone, starting to pace back and forth and rub at her pants like she did when she was nervous. drew and frank glanced at each other. "i know, and i appreciate all the help, but this isn't a council thing, okay? if i don't practice enough this club will be gone."

"i told you i understand how you feel, but -"

"no you don't!" she snapped, clenching her hands into fists. "if this - you don't. you've never had to be - someone people admire, or someone people depend on. i don't want to lose this club." tears welled in her eyes, but she rubbed them away. "and i'm tired of you acting like you know better."

things fell silent. frank busied himself on his phone, though reyna suspected that was just out of pity. she took a deep breath, shivering. jason didn't say anything. "i'm sorry. i really am. next week, jace. maybe after prom." 

with that, she hung up. reyna stood there for what seemed like years, feeling like if she took a single step forward everything would crumble, before drew placed her hand on reyna's shoulder. "you want to talk about it?"

"no. let's practice."

frank shrugged. "reyna..."

"let it go, frank. it's nothing." reyna picked up her helmet and slipped it on, hoping it would obscure the remains of tears in her eyes, which were bordering on red-rimmed. "drew, you referee. i want to have a match with him."

while usually drew would whine about this, she just nodded and stepped back, picking up the score counter remote. reyna lifted her sword, telling herself to get over it, to toughen up, to _get her head in the game._

she lost the next three rounds.

★彡

a car screeched to a stop in front of the field, but this time it was a different one.

its front bumper stopped nervously close to the back of reyna's motorbike. the car door opened, followed by a slam, and jason rounded around the car, hands tucked into his pockets. "hey," he said, voice unusually somber.

"hi, jace," reyna said, stepping forward - motioning for drew and frank to stay back and mind their own business, damn it. "listen, i wanted to say i was sorry for before. i hope you understand that -"

"i do," he cut in, then sighed. reyna felt dread grow in her heart, like something bad was about to happen. she could feel it. "reyna, i... i've been thinking about this for a while. and i think - at least for now - that i want to... i want to break up."

she froze.

this had to be a joke. a prank. a mean one, something she would tell jason to never do ever again later, but a joke. it had to be. reyna didn't know what she'd do if it wasn't.

"it's just... we've been dating for quite a while now, right? and it's occurred to me that... i don't want to go that far yet. this is getting kind of serious, and that scares me, you know? you understand, right, ra?" he smiled sadly. "i love you. i do. but..."

"not as much as you used to," reyna choked out, fingers twisting into the fabric of her shirt. she should've seen this coming. she _did_ see this coming. and yet, even now, standing in front of jason - haloed with light from the sunset like some kind of accursed angel - her brain was still struggling to catch up, like maybe if she denied it enough it wouldn't be true. 

jason shrugged.

"please," reyna whispered, feeling pathetic. any other day she would've taken it, but not today. not this time. not with the tournament and the prom and everything that was shattering around her. "i promise i won't force you into anything. jason, i -"

there was a hand on her shoulder. she wanted to shrug it off, but she didn't have the energy to. tears were dripping down her cheeks now, eyes stinging and hot. of course the world was taking this away from her, too. jason, the only constant love in her life aside from hylla. one of the only people she could rely on all the time.

"i..." jason's hand tightened on her shoulder, before he moved in to hug her. she took a shaky breath. "reyna..."

"get off me," reyna managed, pushing him away. god, she felt terrible and dull, like there was so much emotion in her that it all built up to nothing. "this is because of - you've met someone else, haven't you." _piper._ please. _i just want someone to blame._

he looked confused. "how did you... reyna, this isn't about that." she was too busy restraining herself from crying to listen to what he was saying. "you know it's not. i care about you, just as much as i used to. just now i'm realising i don't love you... quite that way. i'm still figuring out myself."

"so why?" reyna's voice cracked. "three years, jason. all that time and you never noticed? you couldn't have told me sooner so it would hurt less?" she gripped her shirt even harder, trying to keep her footing against the rough ground. her headache was growing worse.

"i was young. i didn't know what it was or how i felt, it was -" jason swallowed, "- i'm sorry, ra. i don't want to hurt you. but this... this is for me. i don't want to be boyfriend and girlfriend any more. i just want to be jason and reyna."

reyna took a deep breath, unsure of what to say. everything buzzed around her, white noise filling her ears as her heart picked up. fuck. this wasn't supposed to happen. they were supposed to be - happy, and good, and _constant._

with one last, broken, "okay," she pushed past jason and got on her motorbike. she didn't look back as she drove off down the road.

reyna wasn't sure where she was going - and it didn't matter, as long as it was _away._

★彡

she'd been driving for hours.

and at last, when the sky was pitch black and the street lamps were beginning to flicker on, reyna admitted that she had no idea what she was doing. nor where she was, or how she would get back. it wasn't like it mattered much anymore.

reyna had never thought of herself as someone dramatic. she didn't cry much, never lost composure. and she definitely never cried over boys. but this wasn't just a random boy - this was jason. jason who she depended on, who she trusted, who she knew.

jason who she loved.

it wasn't that big of a deal. jason didn't hate her - he's said it himself, _i don't want to be boyfriend or girlfriend any more. i just want to be jason and reyna._ they'd still be best friends. just how it used to be. before...

everything inside her was shattered and cracked and twisted, like someone had blended reyna's guts and poured them back into her body, hoping it would work as always. her stomach was aching. her limbs were sore, from an hour of sitting on her motorbike and gripping the throttle at full speed. and she was getting light-headed, eyes still stinging although she wasn't crying anymore.

reyna felt like doing that, though. god, she wanted to, but she wasn't sure if she had any tears left to cry.

shadows fell over her, blanketing the street and the lamps. a car sped by, lights blurring. for a moment reyna wondered who it was, what they were doing - whether their lives were any better than hers was right now.

with another heavy sigh reyna leaned forward, arms splayed out on the windscreen. she should probably go back - if she were any later coming home hylla would _kill_ her - but she didn't want to. not yet. there was something so comforting about the darkness, and the distant city lights, and the flickering lamps above.

her phone vibrated in her pocket, and reyna took a minute to figure out what the hell it was. she pulled it out, feeling sheepish (that was good - it distracted from the misery), pushing the green button and holding the phone up to her ear. "hello?" she questioned, voice cracking embarrassingly.

"hey, reyna," piper said, and reyna looked down. she wanted to smash the phone on the ground, let it skip across the asphalt like stones across a lake. she wanted to see it shatter into pieces so she would never have to hear that beautiful fucking voice ever again - so smooth and lovely and painful. "you okay?"

"so you heard." another car raced by. this time she could hear music blasting from the inside and people laughing, the window rolled down. her heart ached. she wanted that. she wanted that so bad. "i don't need your pity. why don't you and jason go make out and forget about me?"

piper was silent. reyna wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not.

"i'm not going to do that," she said finally, "jason and me aren't dating. we're just testing the waters. and if you must know i sent him away ten minutes ago." piper took a deep breath. "because i wanted to talk to you, reyna."

who tried her best to stay angry. "i'm sure you do," reyna snarked, gritting her teeth. fingers wrapping around her phone so hard she was worried it might break. piper sighed again.

"i do, rey. i always have." reyna didn't have enough energy to work out what that meant. "where are you? home?"

reyna propped herself up on the windscreen and looked around, rubbing at her eyes. "far from it. i drove away... i don't..." with a sinking feeling she realised there were no signs around, and she didn't recognise at all where she was. "i don't know where i am."

"send me your location on whatsapp. i'll come to get you," piper said tiredly. not tiredly in an exasperated way, but more of a soft, gentle way. sleepy, but not doing this because she was obliged to - because she wanted to try. to help. 

_well, aren't you little miss perfect._

"i have my motorbike with me."

there was silence before piper said, "i'll bring the big car."

she wasn't sure who hung up first, but the next thing reyna knew the call had ended. she slumped over again, feeling tears starting to prick at her eyes again. of course she needed help. and from piper mclean, of all people. her hands started to shake.

why couldn't she just do this herself? why couldn't she be more responsible, mindful, less pathetic and depressed? reyna was supposed to be independent. and strong. the girl who everyone depended on - not the girl who depended on other people. 

she wished she could hate piper. or push it all onto her, at least. and god, reyna tried - she tried so hard to muster up anger, bitterness, spite. to make it easier, better, less painful. to know that this was someone else's fault, instead of facing the facts and acknowledging that it was all hers.

it _was_ her fault, wasn't it? 

reyna closed her eyes, hands clenching into fists. it was dangerous sleeping out in the middle of nowhere, but it was better than the alternative: overthinking things to death, mulling over what she could have done different.

what's done had been done, and she hated herself for it.

when she opened her eyes, there was a car in front of her. an engine humming pleasantly, and piper leaning out of the window like she had done days before. she had clearly rushed to get there; hair pulled back into a loose bun, mouth drawn into a slight frown. she was tired. she was drowsy. she was the most beautiful thing reyna had ever seen.

even in her half-awake state, reyna realised what she was supposed to do. she clambered off her motorbike and helped piper lug it into the luggage space at the back. the car really was big, and reyna suspected it was more for road trips rather than picking up your boyfriend's ex-girlfriend from somewhere out of town.

"mclean?" reyna questioned. she was still wearing her fencing jacket, and she dug into her bag for her regular hoodie. "what - what time is it?" piper blinked before pointing at the dashboard, which read _21:29._ way later than reyna thought it was. "oh."

"it was around eight-thirty when i left for you," piper said, and reyna nodded. she must have been driving around for two hours, or a little more than that. what had gotten into her? "we can talk on the way home."

internally reyna groaned, but what other choice did she have? even if she got out of the car, piper had her motorbike - and she doubted it had enough fuel for her to get home. she was stuck in this damned car for another hour.

they made it about a minute in silence before piper started to run her mouth again. "so... are you okay?" reyna kept silent. "you don't have to tell me. and it's okay to not be okay, if that makes sense." she eased on the gas and turned left. 

raindrops started to slide against the windows, eerily reminiscent of that friday evening, with piper mclean and the fliers and the coffee and her damned righteousness. reyna sighed. "i'm okay." maybe it was the sleepiness or the rain or the fact that piper was just there, looking at her so comfortingly, but she found herself wanting to say more. "i just wish it had turned out different."

"i get it," piper said, fingers tapping against the steering wheel yet again. reyna should've found it annoying, but mostly it was endearing: and at the same time she wanted to snap, wanted to scream. _do you? do you really get it?_

_i know you don't._

"did he really rebound that quickly?" reyna asked. she tried for a joking tone, but her question faded into a whisper. "right after breaking up with me, he was with you? i - i can't believe it. did i really mean that little to him?"

"reyna, he cried for half an hour while i was with him," piper said, and that made reyna relax a little. at least he was a little torn up, though she doubted it was even half as much as how she felt. "i mean, actually half an hour. it was starting to get annoying."

against all odds, reyna laughed. for just a second, not particularly loudly, but for a moment her heart was filled with amusement and happiness. and after hours of desolation and moping, it felt... good. 

and apparently it did to piper too, because when reyna looked to her, she was smiling wide, too. "then an hour after that... he confessed to me. i don't know. it was confusing. i didn't know what it meant for him... or me... or you." she stared straight ahead. "i told him i was willing to try it out."

"so you're dating," reyna said bitterly.

"we're not, rey, that's the point." the road was long and stretched out before them, and there were no other cars to be seen. reyna wondered how out of it she must have been to drive past this and not think anything of it. "but hey, this isn't about me. this is about you. tell me how you feel."

reyna fiddled with her fingers as piper tapped at her phone. a second later, music started to hum, volume low enough so that it wasn't distracting. _we fell in love in october,_ by girl in red.

she took a deep breath before starting to talk. "i don't know why i'm so upset," she admitted, "jason said himself that he still wanted to be friends. i just keep feeling like i've lost something, and it's too much. i can't even begin to understand why and it's terrible. i'm - i'm not used to not understanding things."

"and..." she continued, "i wish he could've told me sooner. we've been dating for three years - well we _had_ been - and i don't know. i feel like it would've hurt less if he told me sooner. if he didn't wait that long to realise." 

"i know, rey. i understand." piper leaned over the gear stick to pat her on the back, hair falling over her shoulders. "but you know that it isn't his fault, right? he was young... you both were. he wouldn't have known." 

piper was right, though reyna didn't feel like admitting it. "and he left me for you," she said. piper raised her eyebrows, not quite offended, but unimpressed enough to make reyna flush. "i don't... can i admit something?" the anger in her, the heat racing up her chest, had calmed down considerably, but she needed to say this. now or never, or she'd be stewing in guilt forever. after everything piper had done for her, too...

"i always thought you were a bit of a... that you were spoiled." reyna looked down at her feet. "that's why i didn't like you... not much." _that's why i'm still refusing to like you now._

_it gets harder and harder every day._

to her surprise, piper laughed. "i get that all the time," she said, wiping at something in the corner of her eye. "it's because my dad is famous, yeah." she turned to reyna and skimmed her fingers across the top of her hand. it sent a shiver through reyna as she asked, "i know this is about you, but can i talk about something?"

with a lump in her throat reyna nodded, hoping piper didn't hate her.

she supposed it was unfair - for her to hope that, when she'd been stubbornly acting terribly toward piper ever since they'd met - but what was fair in life? all of this was just a testament to how unjust things were. how unjust life was, in itself, its very nature.

"before i moved to this school..." piper said, slowly, easing on the gas yet again so she could talk and drive at the same time. "i never wanted people to know that my dad was tristan mclean. some people figured it out with my last name. a lot of people didn't. i was always so relieved whenever i talked to someone and they didn't bring it up." her hands were shaking on the wheel now, and if they weren't driving across an empty straight road reyna was worried she might crash.

another breath. piper slowed down the car even more. "because they made the same assumptions you did, rey."

guilt flooded through reyna, so strong it made her own heart ache. "piper, i'm so sorr -"

"it's fine." when piper turned, glancing to the left to smile at her, it seemed genuine. as if she weren't angry or spiteful one bit. how could she do that? not hate reyna for the way she'd treated her? to let it roll off her back like water on glass? 

she was untouchable. 

it sure seemed like it, at least, even as reyna reached out to brush her fingers through piper's hair. her scrunchie came loose, hair flowing down her back, and though reyna flushed and apologised piper just smiled fondly.

why was she doing this? reyna always did things for a reason. maybe... maybe because she wanted to. touch piper. or maybe she was just tired. or maybe those weren't exclusive. it was giving her a headache thinking about it.

"anyway, yeah. they bullied me a lot. called me a spoiled brat and all that," piper continued, hands gripping the wheel even tighter, "it was shit. that's why i never really had any friends. though i guess i have it better than other people, so... maybe i deserve it."

"deserve it?" reyna said, alarmed, and piper shrugged. "no one deserves that. not a child." piper shrugged again, though this time there was a painful smile on her face, one that was genuine all the same. "didn't you donate thousands to that one animal rescue centre?"

"and the trevor project. and several relief centres near the philippines," piper added, the smile on her face becoming softer, a dimple in her cheek that reyna wanted to poke. "okay, i see where you're going with this."

reyna sat back and asked herself how it had come to this. wondered why she was here, next to piper mclean, driving down a road that was empty and dark and stretched out for miles. wondered why she wasn't annoyed or angry or sad. wondered why this felt like everything she'd ever wanted and more.

she was being ridiculous.

"i can't believe this." piper bit down on her lip and smiled. "i came here to help you, but you ended up listening to my sob story. thank you, reyna. this helped me a lot." finally she decided to pull over, the car unmoving on the side of the road as piper took her hands off the wheel. "guess you're just that kind of person, huh?"

"yeah, i guess i am," reyna whispered, though she had no idea what she was saying.

the song changed, and it took reyna a second to recognise it. _strawberry blond._ its cheery, fast-paced tune was an abrupt contrast to the darkness around them. piper leaned forward and laughed, so quiet it was almost a breath. "this song."

"what a coincidence." reyna still didn't know what was coming out of her mouth.

all she knew was that they were close, and piper's soft dark hair was tickling her cheek, and her cute lips were pulled into a smile. and when she looked up, her dark brown eyes glistening in the soft light of her phone and the headlights, reyna felt a pull in her gut that she'd never felt before.

like a magnet. like she was being drawn in. like she couldn't get it to stop even if she tried.

maybe reyna didn't want it to stop.

"you were always so," piper paused, wondering how to phrase it, lips moving over the words that reyna couldn't hear, "so perfect. it was infuriating about you, because i never knew how you could do it."

even in her tiredness reyna furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "me? perfect? that's you," she shot back lowly, her right arm propping up on the arm rest between their two seats, her other reaching up to grasp piper's shoulder. "you're so talented. in everything you do."

"except maths," piper corrected, before laughing. "thank you, reyna. that means a lot to me."

_look at you, strawberry blond..._

"reyna, opening night is on saturday," piper breathed out, and reyna blinked. "i got you tickets..." she looked down bashfully, her hair sweeping across her collarbone. reyna wanted to twirl a lock of it around her finger, so she did, and piper grinned. "will you come?"

"oh. saturday?" she said. "i don't know. i have fencing practice then, too. there's a big tournament coming up... i'm afraid i won't win it." 

the words made her shiver, reminding reyna how she'd gotten here in the first place. rejecting jason's invitation for an extra spar... that was probably the last straw for him. her heart ached. how she wished it didn't have to be this way.

maybe it didn't have to be, because now piper was staring up at her, and there was sadness tinged in her eyes. would she refuse? would she make the same mistake again?

reyna never made the same mistake twice. _never._

"i'll go." piper jumped and a smile bloomed on her face. "just - just give me the tickets at the auditorium. i'll come." she nodded, stopping when reyna placed a hand on her shoulder. "piper? ...i look forward to it. you're going to be great."

silence. but before reyna could panic about saying the wrong thing, piper lunged forward and hugged her. she was so warm, and reyna was pretty sure her braid was coming loose, but it didn't matter. not now.

her fingers skimmed past piper's skin, and she smiled. 

_watching your arm, i love it when you look my way...._

★彡

"you okay, reyna?" the door to her bedroom creaked. it was dark, and hylla was nothing but a shadow. "i heard about jason. i'm so sorry."

reyna's fingers curled into the pillow, reminded of everything had happened. losing a person that meant so much to her - who she'd depended on. she was going to grow old with him... all her future plans gone to waste.

then she remembered piper, and the fluffiness of her hair, and the way her nose scrunched up when she laughed, and how close they'd been sitting in the car. it made reyna's heart warm, and she nodded.

"i'm okay, hy," she said. and she was.

or at least, she would be.

★彡

"reyna! over here!" 

among the sea of people piper stuck out her arm and waved her hand, making herself impossible to miss - as if the dress didn't make it impossible enough already. it was golden and sparkly, and whenever piper moved, it shimmered like fabric gold.

she pushed through the crowd of people, trying to ignore the churning in her something. "here are the tickets. i got one extra in case you wanted to invite anyone." reyna didn't need it, but she didn't say anything. "i'll be going now, but go take a seat!"

with that, piper skipped away. reyna started rubbing at her shirt again. she was supposed to be at fencing practice. the tournament was on tuesday, and god, if she didn't win... what would happen?

not only would she be losing the one sport she loved, but she'd be depriving drew and frank of a club they could stay in, too, especially with how terrible drew's parents were and how strict frank's grandmother was. there were people depending on her.

reyna clenched her fingers into a fist. she really shouldn't have come.

"hey," someone deadpanned. reyna looked up. she was scrunching her ticket up to shreds, and she carefully unfolded it. "do you want to go in or not?" nico raised his eyebrow, tearing another ticket in half and letting another person in. 

"nico," she said, relieved that the person at the ticket counter was at least someone she knew. "sorry, i'm just worried about the -"

"fencing tournament. i know." she felt the corner of her mouth quirking up at this. of course nico knew. for all his sour, cynical attitude, he was exceptionally good at reading people - even if he wasn't the most social of people. "you shouldn't. worry, i mean."

reyna raised her eyebrows and offered her ticket to him. he ripped it in half. "you'll do fine," he clarified, earnestly. "you're a good fencer. no one there stands a chance against you, probably." her jerked his head. "enjoy the play."

she patted him on the hand, causing him to jerk and look up. with a smile she said, "thanks, nico," before walking into the auditorium.

it was... a sight. thick, heavy pieces of what looked like golden silk were strung up from wall to wall. the stage itself was framed by the same material, carpeted with red velvet. there were a few props peeking out from behind the curtains, and if she squinted she could see a few people fidgeting with them.

"hi, reyna," a familiar voice greeted, and she nearly got whiplash turning around. jason smoothed back his perfect blonde hair and smiled. "i didn't really expect to see you here."

at that she pursed her lips. what did that mean? was it really just a simple _i didn't expect to see you here,_ or was it malicious? like, _oh, so you can bail on fencing practice for a stupid play but not a date with me? idiot. this is why i broke up with you._

she gritted her teeth. "yes, well, mclean would've beaten me with a rock if i didn't come." untrue, but reyna herself wasn't so sure why she'd come. to see piper, perhaps. definitely not to see her ex. "and you?"

why did she ask? she already knew the answer. they were _dating_ now. so soon after he'd broken up with reyna, because she meant that little to him, apparently. 

_"so you're dating."_

_"we're not, rey, that's the point."_

jason shrugged. "well, piper, she's... she's just really cool, is all. i've never seen her act before." reyna smiled and tried to quell the disaster raging in her stomach. there was too much going on and she didn't like it. she already had inner turmoil to deal with, what with skipping practice. "i hope you enjoy the show. and reyna... i hope you're okay."

and he bounced away, so cheerful as always. sure, he was sad, but her suspicions were right - nowhere near as much as she was. luckily, reyna didn't have much time to dwell on it as someone went up on stage and told them to take a seat. the chairs were surprisingly comfy.

she'd gotten a second row seat, which was good enough for her, and picked at her nails as she waited for the show to begin. chatter ceased and the only thing heard was the rustling of clothing as people moved around.

the lights dimmed.

it was time for the play. 

★彡

piper was beautiful.

reyna must have said it around a dozen times in her head already, but it was true, and it would never stop being so. 

there was eyeliner drawn across her eyelids, gold and sharp and elegant to fit her theme. her dark hair contrasted prettily with the bright colours of her outfit, and her sash trailed behind her as she skipped across the stage and monologued. she was playing some kind of fairy princess - adelina, her name was.

"i'll do it!" she announced to thalia, who was playing a pirate. "i may be a princess, but i'm not soft. i'll do it for him..." her eyes trailed to the audience. maybe it was reyna's imagination, but piper seemed to be looking at her. "i'll do it for william."

thalia continued to speak in a weird, fake accent that was quite frankly hilarious, waving her pirate's hat around. soon, the scene ended. 

reyna found herself leaning forward, propping her chin up on her hands. this was all so stupid - the idea of a girl sailing across an entire ocean for her lover (reyna would never be that clingy) (she hoped) - made her want to laugh, yet in a way it was so enrapturing.

the idea of a girl willing to sacrifice so much. to try so hard. withstanding a whole sea of water, one of the most dangerous forces of nature; days of hunger and thirst, for someone she loved. how could someone love that so much, and so deeply?

she'd never felt that way. not when she was with jason, or any time before that. maybe that's why things had come to the end.

did she not love sincerely enough? did he need more proof? she would've sailed across the ocean if jason had asked her to.

but maybe the essence was all in the _wanting._ not doing something because someone had asked you to, but because you wanted someone back - wanted them to be by your side, through everything you did.

that was the kind of love reyna wanted. she wished she could feel that way. maybe jason was right - maybe they weren't meant for each other. maybe she wasn't meant for _anyone._

shaking herself out of her depressing thoughts, reyna continued to watch as the curtains swung open again, even as the insecurity lingered in the back of her mind.

the play, though overdramatic at times, was pleasant to watch - perhaps it owed that to piper, who kept everything entertaining and lively or soft and intimate in its scenes. she was the star of the show, and everyone knew it - she was a glowing presence, up on that velvet-carpeted stage, every word that came out of her mouth like magic.

soon, william and adelina were reunited, and though reyna rolled her eyes she had to admit it was a little sweet. her heart clenched watching will spin piper in the air and across the stage. she wondered why it felt so wrong, seeing his hands on her waist, when it had felt so natural with her the day before.

they collapsed onto the ground together, will pulling out a guitar and propping his head up on a mossy rock that looked surprisingly real. "do you remember the song i wrote you, adelina?" he asked, and reyna leaned forward, digging her fingers into her jeans.

this was where it had all started... going to that rehearsal with piper. it felt like so long ago, now. would things have gone different? would they still be at odds, had she not come to see her practice and sing?

reyna supposed there was no use dwelling on it now, just as piper burst into song. 

it was surreal, watching her. she wasn't sure whether it was piper herself or what she did, what she was capable of. and even as she sung her eyes seemed to stay on reyna. maybe she was reaching, but god, she wished it were true.

(why did she wish that, anyway?)

" _i don't need the city and i don't need proof,_ " she dragged out the last note and, as she stood on the tips of her toes, smiled. and her eyes landed on reyna and they were so warm and brown and comforting, like dark chocolate, like rough wood - and reyna felt like she was sinking because piper's expression grew softer and it was like watching a beautiful disaster, in slow-motion.

was it for her? was it a coincidence she was looking this way?

she felt heat spread across her cheeks. for what was perhaps the thousandth time that day reyna found herself wishing for something she didn't know was there, something out of her reach, something so intangible yet there. a _feeling._

" _all i need, darling, is a life in your shape..._ "

★彡

"you were..." for the first time in forever reyna found herself at a loss for words, hands gesturing vaguely as piper smiled. she was sweaty, half of her hair pulled up into a messy ponytail. in one of her hands was a water bottle, and she was attempting to rub off her makeup with the other. "amazing."

she rubbed furiously at her cheek, the heel of her palm coming away coated with sparkly foundation and blush. "thank you, reyna, that means a lot. honestly, i'm honoured you came at all. i hope you liked the play."

"it was really cheesy. no offence."

"oh, jeez, you tell me. i really wanted to make it a tragedy, but both percy and the school told me it was a bad idea." piper sighed. "well, i suppose that story will wait another day. "i hope it wasn't _too_ cliche for your tastes." she bowed jokingly, and reyna couldn't help but laugh.

"don't worry. you made it lovely." reyna flushed as the words slipped out of her mouth, wondering why she'd said that, but piper just smiled and thanked her. "it was worth... skipping fencing practice for."

at this, piper drooped, picking at the glitter on her tulle skirt. "about that... rey, i'm sorry. i know how much fencing means to you, and how important this tournament is. i shouldn't have - i don't know, guilt-tripped you into going."

maybe she shouldn't have brought it up - it clearly made piper feel bad, and now she had to comfort her, and reyna had never been very good at comforting people. that was jason's thing. and judging by that car ride... it was piper's thing, too. but not hers.

"it was my choice to go," reyna reassured, patting piper on the shoulder. "but if you really wanted to pay me back... it'd be cool if you could come to the tournament. it's on tuesday, three days from now, not too far from here..." 

she felt heat spread across her cheeks once again as piper blinked. of course piper wouldn't want to go, it was boring, and now she was putting her into an uncomfortable, weird, guilt-trippy situation... she was bad at this.

"if you want to, that is," she added quickly, hoping that would repair some of the damage.

to reyna's relief, piper laughed. "are you kidding? i'd love to go. getting to see a real life swordfight -" she splayed her hands out and her eyes seemed to sparkle, "- wow. so much play inspiration there."

"is that all you see me for, mclean?" reyna joked, even as she wondered where all of this was coming from. she almost never bantered like this - only ever with jason and hylla, and she'd known them for years.

what was it about piper that made reyna want to trust her? what was it about piper that felt so much like _home_?

"oh, please. you're reaching," piper shot back, biting on the inside of her cheek and grinning. "listen, i got to go now, but i'll be there. i can't wait to see you kick ass." how reyna hoped that would happen. "see ya!"

"bye," reyna said back as piper skipped away, leaving a trail of glitter behind her.

she stepped back, feeling empty for a moment. why? did she want to keep talking to piper that bad? how did she get attached in a week, went from hate to - whatever this was? because as she watched piper's gold skirt disappear around the corner, it felt like she was losing something. a feeling.

was it love, maybe? that felt... weird.

but it didn't feel _wrong..._

"reyna! i'm glad you're here." reyna cringed at jason's voice, and the traces of the warmth piper had given her by her presence (that was ridiculous - she was making reyna happy by just existing in her radius now?) disappeared. "how are you? did you enjoy the play?"

"it was alright," she replied, tracing the zipper of her bag with her finger. "how about you? did you like it?" jason shrugged. "i suppose you must have. considering you and mclean are a thing now."

he blushed and rubbed at his neck. "ra, you should know that we're not actually dating. my feelings for her are... more than just friends, but i don't think i could get over you that easily. but if you... i don't know, find someone for you - that's great. i'd be happy for you."

jason smiled sheepishly and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, and reyna couldn't help but soften. another thing that he did that was so, so endearing. after everything, he was still jason, sincere and warm and so earnest reyna was never quite sure whether he was capable of lying.

it made her smile. some things just stayed the same, reyna supposed.

"thank you, jason. that means a lot."

they stood in front of each other for a long, silent moment. the auditorium was clearing out, until it was only them, the theatre kids, and a few other people left inside. reyna blinked. "was there something you needed?" 

"yes, actually. i just was - working up the courage, i guess. i know your tournament's soon, and you've been practicing a lot." they both cringed, reminded of what had led up to... the fall. "and uh, i was wondering if it was okay for me to come. i'd like to see you win."

why was everyone so sure she would win? did they have that much faith in her, or were they just being nice?

it was probably the latter.

reyna bit her lip. "jason, i..." the sentiment of him asking was nice - _but you don't need my permission. i'm not your keeper. it's a fencing tournament, you can go if you want to._ she took a deep breath and smiled as much as she could. "yeah. it's fine. it's all up to you."

as she began to walk away, jason called out, "reyna? ...thanks. i'll see you around."

would she?

of course she would. this was jason.

they didn't need to be a couple to be close. maybe they could go back to the way things were. play a different route. and this time, they'd do it right. with less heartbreak and crying and mindless, miserable driving. reyna smiled.

"yeah. i'll see you around, jace."

★彡

reyna wrapped her fingers tight around her sword hilt to keep them from shaking.

it was almost unsightly. she'd gone into tournaments before, surely she'd be more confident. and yet... well, the fate of her club had never really depended on her winning. frank placed a hand on her shoulder. "you'll do great."

"what'd your grandma say?"

his face fell, which wasn't a good sign. "she - well, there's no changing her mind. she said if the club wasn't, like, school-official, i wouldn't be allowed to go." he scratched at his neck. "reyna... it's not good to prepare for loss."

"thank you, sun tzu."

"i'm sorry? i read the book once, reyna. once." she snickered. teasing her friends always made her feel less nervous before a match. "also, i'm pretty sure that's not actually a philosophy from the b -"

"what are you two idiots doing?" drew asked. her pink-black hair was tied into a low ponytail, and she held reyna's fencing helmet in her hands. "your match is any minute now, reyna! you should focus." with a casual flick of her wrist, the helmet was tossed into reyna's chest with an _oof_ from reyna herself.

reyna sighed and rolled her eyes, tucking the helmet under her other arm - the one that wasn't holding her épée. "how nice of you to remind us, captain drew," frank said, voice cheery yet sarcastic at the same time.

drew puffed her chest out. "oh, yeah. when reyna dies of old age, i'll be the one to take over."

"you are younger than me by a year, drew. a year."

she plugged her fingers into her ears and closed her eyes. frank and reyna both laughed, but as the tournament organisers went back up on the podium, reyna began to grow nervous again. "drew, what did your parents say? about the club."

"i haven't asked them about it. but if the club gets shut down, i don't think i'd be able to... yeah. pretty sure they'd insist on seeing my gear or going to practice or whatever. and you know what they say." she fiddled with her fingers. "fencing's not for girls."

"damn," reyna cussed, wiping her face and sliding her helmet, hoping it would hide the stress that was obvious on her face. "guess i'd better win this, then. for you guys. you deserve this."

then she realised. 

piper wasn't here.

her hands started to shake again, though reyna had no idea why. she craned her neck to see around the padded stage, squinting through her helmet mesh, and couldn't catch a glimpse of anyone that looked like piper.

so she hadn't come. of course she hadn't. neither was jason. maybe there were making out, somewhere. the thought made her stomach twist. although she knew she never should have expected piper to come, well...

well. reyna had been hoping she would.

drew nudged her, gentler than usual. for a girl so brash and rude, she was astoundingly good at reading people. "it's your time." she jerked her head toward the stage. "this is the final match, cap'n. go get' em." frank nodded enthusiastically.

"you're right. i can do this." they both nodded yet again as reyna stepped onto the padded stage (it was less of a stage than a raised strip of floor, but _technicalities_ ). she took off her helmet to fix her hair, and just as she did -

oh. okay. this was normal. piper mclean was in the stands, arms raised in the air, a derpy, wobbly smile on her face, holding a sign that said: _SORRY IM LATE!_ and when reyna tilted her head she flipped it around to reveal: _YOU GOT THIS!!!!_ _!_

she laughed. so hard it made her double over, and reyna heard her opponent let out a laugh as well. of course. of course only piper mclean out of all people would be fashionably late to a tournament with a cardboard sign and sharpie handwriting.

the referee told her to put on her helmet, and with one last appreciative wave at piper, reyna did. she bent her legs, pointing her sword at her opponent - and when the scorer beeped, she lunged.

"point for reyna!"

even among the dozens of people clapping, reyna could still hear piper cheering. it made her face heat up under her helmet as she got back into stance. the machine beeped again, and this time her opponent jumped forward first. 

they dodged each other's sword tips for a while before reyna ducked under their épée and jabbed her sword into their chest. another beep, another point. she smiled. maybe her friends were right. maybe she _did_ got this.

next round, point for lavinia. the round after that, another one for reyna. _first to ten. first to ten._ she narrowly avoided the tip skimming past her arm, poking her own into lavinia's stomach. _four points. first to ten. six to go._

soon, they were tied - because of course they were. how cliche. reyna closed her eyes, going to rub at them before realising she was wearing a helmet. signalling that she wasn't ready, reyna pulled it off and rubbed at them.

if she didn't win this... it'd all be gone. drew and frank, watching worriedly from the sidelines - they wouldn't have this club to go back to, to come home to. if that one metal tip didn't jab into lavinia's jacket before it was the other way around, it'd all be gone.

everything.

"hey!" a voice yelled, and reyna winced, fingers scratching against the metal mesh of her helmet. piper leaned out of her seat, hands cupped around her mouth. "you got this, reyna! show 'em who's boss!"

"pretty enthusiastic girlfriend you've got there," lavinia remarked, and though she was wearing her helmet reyna could almost see the grin on her face.

she sputtered. "piper is - she's - oh, whatever. let's just fight." reyna slid her helmet back on, taking a deep breath. if piper believed she could do this, then she could. no ifs or buts about it.

reyna would make her proud.

" _allez!"_

it was almost in slow-motion. something straight out of a movie. reyna watched as the metal of lavinia's sword skim right past - so close, scraping past the fabric of her helmet - before bending her legs and jumping forward, arm straight, aim true -

she sucked in a deep, stuttery breath, just as lavinia squeaked. both of their eyes glued to the tip of reyna's sword, poking into the fabric of lavinia's jacket. the scorer beeped. still reyna didn't react, eyes wide. 

she'd won. she'd won.

a cheerful yell rung through the room, and this was what made reyna straighten and look around. " _let's go!_ " piper was screaming, leaning over the railing and bouncing on her heels. " _i knew you could do it!_ "

"and reyna wins!" someone in the background announced, and a smile grew on her face as she took off her helmet, saluting and shaking lavinia's hand. she'd won. her club would live to see another day.

"let's go, reyna!" piper shouted, bounding onto the stage. and before reyna knew it, before she could process, there were arms around her neck and -

oh. okay.

this was... a thing that was happening.

"not your girlfriend, huh?" she heard lavinia mutter, laughter in her voice. reyna tipped back on the heels of her feet and her hands came to rest on the small of piper's back. 

it was nice. it was _amazing._ so different from kissing jason. whereas kissing him felt like a natural feeling, kissing piper felt more like... sparks. as cliche as it was, it was something so different, so exciting, dark hair tickling her cheek and lips that were so much softer. it made electricity run through her veins.

was this what kissing girls were like? 

or was this what kissing _piper mclean_ was like?

★彡

drew and frank were hugging her, and they didn't seem to be letting go any time soon.

"okay, guys," reyna said, despite the fact that she really wasn't bothered. it felt nice, actually, to see them so happy. and she was happy, too, despite the one thing that weighed down in her heart. "that's enough now."

"you did it!" frank yelled in her ear, and she laughed. "oh, i knew you could. i've always believed in you." finally he pulled away, though his hands were still gripping reyna's shoulders, shaking her excitedly. 

"good job or whatever," drew said, voice deadpan although her arms were still wrapped tight around reyna, who thought the other might be crying and trying to hide it. she didn't blame her. drew had told her, once, that it was the only place that felt like home.

it was probably one of the nicest things drew had ever said, and reyna loved being that for her. home. something to come back to. something to take solace in. "thanks, drew. couldn't have done it without your impeccable cheering skills."

frank laughed as drew rolled her eyes, before tapping at her chin. "that reminds me. seems like you had a cheerleader of your own just now." reyna's blood ran cold at the mention of her. "are you and mclean dating?"

"no!"

"very quick of you," drew said, "i didn't pin you for the type. didn't you say she had a crush on jason or something?" reyna buried her face in her hands. this was why she didn't tell her team anything. "i mean, don't get me wrong, that sure is a power move, cap."

she seemed to pick up on reyna's frustration as she groaned and slumped against the wall. "no, drew. we're not dating. i've never even considered it before... that." well, untrue, but it'd always been more of an odd, fleeting thought than a real consideration or fantasy.

something that would cross her mind once and a while and reyna would go, _huh, that's weird,_ ignoring the heat in her cheeks and the thumping of her heart, before moving on with her day.

not even in her wildest dreams would she ever consider confessing to piper, or kissing her.

"so she forced herself onto you?" frank asked, concerned.

"no! not really." _i didn't hate it. actually, i think i liked it. i think i really, really liked it._ "i kissed her back, so... i wanted it. i liked kissing her," reyna admitted, "i just kind of wish she'd asked first."

"she should have," frank agreed, leaning against the wall next to her, "but i don't get it. she likes you, obviously, she kissed you, and you like her back, right? so what's the problem here? what's there to be stressed about?"

_too many things,_ reyna thought. "like drew said, it's been - what, a week since my breakup with jason?" drew raised her eyebrow. "it's just way too soon. i'm not sure if i'm over him yet."

"whoa, okay, i never said it was too soon," drew interrupted. she crossed her arms. "reyna, tell us how you feel about the breakup. and answer me honestly, okay? not what you feel like you're obligated to say or feel."

"you're way too good at reading people," reyna muttered, rubbing at her eyelids.

her first thought was that she was sad, because of course she was - but that wasn't exactly true, was it? she had been right after, of course, during her mindless driving... but after that it was more odd than sad. like she was missing something, but it didn't really impair her in any way.

it was like seeing dry ice subliming, or a bowling ball bounce. strange. not bad, just a little weird to see. that was how it felt.

"i guess it's weird," reyna said, "strange. like something's missing. but i'm not really sad about it." as much as she tried to dig deep into her heart and mind, there didn't seem to be any trace of it, really. her heart didn't feel like it was broken; it still beat like it used to.

"cap... are you in love with piper mclean?"

reyna licked her lips, taking a deep breath. "no," she said earnestly, "no, i'm not. not yet, i don't think. but she makes me -" she curled her fingers into her jeans, "- she makes me happy in a way no one else does. i haven't felt it in a long time, i don't think. maybe not ever."

drew breathed out a laugh.

"that's enough, reyna. you don't have to be in love to want to try."

★彡

after a week of disaster and happiness and plays and tournaments, it was nice to sit back and relax. 

reyna had signed up for all of it, of course, and though she loved the feeling of being productive it was also unbearably overwhelming sometimes. but now that the prom hall had been decorated, the tournament and play were over, reyna had nothing left to do but wait until prom.

which was tomorrow. she had her dress and arrangements all ready. it felt weird - reyna tried to ignore the churning in her stomach that told her she was missing something, that she wasn't allowed to relax, but it was probably just her hard-wired to always be stressed about something. everything was ready.

for now, she could do _nothing._

and yet it seemed that she couldn't go one day without a call, because as soon as she jumped on her bed her phone started to vibrate on the desk. reyna groaned and picked it up, swiping at the green button. 

"hi, reyna," jason said. "i wanted to talk to you about something. it's about prom, actually -"

"are you going with piper?" she blurted out. she couldn't help but ask. the fact that her ex-boyfriend also had a crush on the same person reyna apparently had a crush on made things way too complicated, and she wondered when her life had turned into a teen fiction movie.

the question seemed to surprise jason. "er, no, actually. i was debating whether to go with or just stag. feel like it'll be fun either way. what about you? you're going with anyone or no?"

that was much more of a loaded question than she'd like to admit.

at first she'd been thinking of asking piper, but after the kiss that would be much too awkward. especially considering reyna wasn't interested in dating ( _despite_ what the outrageous rate of her heart said whenever she thought about piper) - it was too soon for that.

but she wanted to try. to see if piper liked her back, maybe. and they could give it a try. not quite dating, not quite friends. reyna didn't know what it was called, but she thought that maybe she might like that.

except, yeah, the kiss. awkward. made her frown just thinking about it. 

(she _liked_ it - just hated what it was meant to imply. was it something piper had wanted for so long, too, or was it a heat of the moment thing? did she want to talk about it like reyna did? also, why were people so confusing?)

"i don't think i am," reyna said, "i might, but even then, probably just as friends. maybe leo or nico if they're not busy, i don't know." she traced patterns into her desk table and sighed. 

"yeah, i get it," jason said, and it was silent for a moment before he continued, "uh, okay, i didn't actually to call you to ask you about your prom date. i was checking in with the hotel and the rest of the council, and... did you remember to get the fireworks?"

she raised her eyebrow. "wasn't hazel supposed to do that?"

"yeah, but she only got a few since they were all sold out or something. and then she asked you if you could drive out of town to get more, and then you said yes," jason said, reyna's eyes widening as the memory trickled back into her mind. "uh, reyna? if you could get them to me now then -"

"shit!" she muttered, spitting out a string of curses - some spanish, some english, some curses that hadn't been invented yet in any language. "jason - i'll be right back. if i hurry i can get them to you by night, i think. or the hotel if you won't be there."

"um, i guess that's okay, but it's a pretty long drive. are you s -"

reyna hung up.

she swung open her closet door and slipped on her jacket, sliding her phone into one of the pockets. luckily, she didn't have any trouble finding her bike keys (last time they'd been in the drawer under the sink - how they'd gotten there, reyna would never know).

of course her perfect day was ruined. of course it was. 

but when she went to walk out and jump on her motorbike to get those fireworks as fast as she could, piper mclean was standing there. reyna couldn't decide if this made the day worse or better.

"hello!" she sang, like she hadn't smashed her lips onto reyna's the last time they'd met. "piper to the rescue! as always. i heard about your little firework problem, so i went ahead and dug out a few i never got to use!" she tossed a large paper bag at reyna. "for a party, that is. are they okay?"

reyna peered into and shrugged. they looked like normal, standard fireworks, and while they weren't as showy as reyna would've liked them to be they would definitely be better than only a few measly ones. she counted at least three dozen.

"they'll do," she said coolly, like her heart wasn't screaming with relief. "but how did you know? did jason tell you?"

"jason told leo who told me," piper said, "i actually can't stay for long, so. i just wanted to give you that and ask..." she bit her lip and scrunched her fingers up in her dress, a surprisingly cutesy green one with baby-doll sleeves. "i wanted to ask..."

piper clapped her hands together, then smoothed back her hair, then licked her lips. "sorry, i'm nervous about this. give me a mo." she took a deep breath before looking straight into reyna's eyes and asked, "will you go to prom with me, reyna?"

everything froze.

"...what?"

"yeah, i'm - i'm really sorry i couldn't get you some flashy promposal. i really wanted to, i swear, but... well, i kind of just decided to do this on the drive here, and there weren't any mini parade setups in the car," piper tried to joke.

reyna was still frozen in place. "um," she stuttered out, "like - like as friends?" piper shrugged, a gesture of _if you want._ "piper, i - i wanted to talk about the other day at the tournament - i -"

"i'm sorry, i really do have to go. my father has this big thing and it's going to be so boring but apparently it's important, or whatever." that explained the dress, then. "we'll talk about this at prom? if you... do want to go with me, that is."

it was funny, then, how piper seemed to assume that she had to convince reyna to accept what she'd wanted the most all along.

she guessed the world was funny like that sometimes.

"i do," reyna replied, heart fluttering at the pure joy on piper's face, her eyes lighting up like fairy lights in the darkness. "i'll see you at prom, piper."

"i'll see you too!" piper said, and reyna watched as she trailed down back to the road and got into her car. she was still waving at reyna as she drove away.

★彡

the entrance was lit up with streamers and fairy lights, just as reyna had planned. it was even more beautiful glowing in the dark - dots of orange and yellow scattered around the buildings and trees, illuminating the night beautifully. 

"hey," nico said as she walked up to the entrance. he was wearing a mauve dress shirt with a black jacket over it, and a skirt that reached his knees with leggings underneath. reyna scoffed at the sight of his worn-up sneakers, terribly mismatched with the rest of his outfit. "coming alone, i see."

"still hanging around the entrance like a weirdo, i see. you did this last year. and i don't think we had a prom before that but if we had, you probably would've." nico raised his hands up as if in defeat. "you look nice, nico."

"thanks. you do too," he said, picking at the material of his jacket, "i like the dress. did your sister harass me with photos like haze did?"

it was a purple dress, going from lilac from its funnel collar, to deep purple at the ends of her elbow-length puffy sleeves and the hem of the skirt, which were decorated with patterns of stars and moons. she'd chosen it herself.

"of course she did. such is the nature of older sisters." nico rolled his eyes, hating to remember that technically, hazel was older than him, though only by a few months. "i take it you're going alone again."

"you don't have to remind me of how lonely i am," he deadpanned, before smiling, "nah. not technically alone. leo and hazel are going with me, and we're going to have fun, unlike you, who will be alone all prom."

god, the kid was mean sometimes. "i'm actually not going alone," reyna said, and nico's eyes widened, first with surprise, then with suspicion. "it's true. nothing serious, obviously, but she'll probably be here..."

she glanced back.

"any... minute now."

reyna turned, fully, voice trailing away as she saw piper step out onto the pavement, holding her dress skirt up. nico was talking behind her, and she was nodding along, despite the fact that she had no idea what he was saying.

her movie really was a teen fiction movie, if the girl standing there was any proof.

piper's dark hair was done into a half high-ponytail, some of it drawn up with a tie, the rest of it flowing down her shoulders. her dress was off-shoulder and pink, the hem of the collar stretching across her chest decorated with flowers. the skirt was pink as well, lacy at the end, a sash tied around her middle. 

if that weren't enough, there was a flower crown nestled in her hair, the flowers and petals so pretty and soft. she looked like a fairy. or a princess. or both those things.

"wow. did you really just tune me out to stare at piper mclean? that's very gay of you," nico was saying. reyna nodded and started walking toward piper, her amusement at nico's ensuing groan only half-registered.

"hi, reyna," piper greeted, a wide smile on her face. she looked even more serene up close, sparkly eyeliner drawn across her eyelids. "this looks amazing. must have worked hard on reserving and decorating this place."

she nodded. "i did. but, you know, it's worth it." reyna offered her arm to piper, who looped her own through it. "you look amazing tonight. sometimes it surprises me how pretty you are."

it was an embarrassing thing to admit, but piper just smiled. "thank you! you look really nice as well. i like what you did with your hair." she tucked a strand of hair loose from reyna's braid bun back behind her ear. "i assume you want to talk about the other day."

they entered the auditorium. lights were flashing, but not enough to be jarring or overly exciting. the banners had turned out great, but all reyna could think about were the painstaking nights she'd spent pinning them to the walls. "yeah. i do."

"reyna, i... i did it because i was happy, you know? for you. i know it meant a lot to you," piper launched right into it, almost like she had been rehearsing. "i should have asked you first or something. it really wasn't cool of me."

reyna wanted to speak, but piper kept going. "and i have to admit something to you." her hands slid down to take reyna's own. "i meant it. that kiss? i really like you, reyna. i know it's awkward, what with jason and all, but you should know that it's never been him for me. it's... it's always been you."

her eyes widened. "so all that time you were hanging out with me, helping me, talking to me - oh." reyna suddenly felt very, very embarrassed, hoping piper wouldn't be able to see her blush under the lights. "you were flirting."

"flirting's a stretch," piper said, and music started to play. slow, soft, cheesy, a song by yet another white man with yet another song filled with the same metaphors over and over again. "i had a crush on you, and wanted to get to know you better, is all."

"that didn't work very well," reyna shot back, and piper shrugged and grinned sheepishly, "you failed to take into account, mclean, how dense i am to romantic gestures. although i suppose that's more my fault than yours."

"tell me about it," piper scoffed as they began to dance, reyna's hand on her waist, hers on reyna's shoulder. they swayed back and forth for a while. "but - wait, you're not like, weirded out or anything, right? i get if you just want to be friends, but... yeah. i feel like you need to know."

reyna pursed her lips. "i'm not in love with you," she started, "but i know i'm not... well, i want to be. you're really sweet and cool and beautiful, piper, and -" her hand tightened on piper's waist, nearly squeezing it, "- and i'm not saying we should date. i'm just saying that i really liked kissing you, and if you'd like to do it again, then i wouldn't be opposed to it."

at this, piper laughed incredulously. "huh," she said, squeezing reyna's shoulder. " _huh._ i really did not think you'd - that you'd like me back." she ducked her head down to hide her face, but reyna could still see her smile and her dimpled cheeks. adorable. "and... jason?"

"what about him?" 

"you're over him."

reyna sighed. "complicated question." the song changed, but they didn't change positions, continuing to sway pleasantly across the floor. "would i feel weird dating anyone so soon? yes. does having jason as my... ex feel weird? yes. but i don't think i'm sad about it. i mean, i'm definitely not miserable."

piper laughed. "i can see that." she took a deep breath and smiled. "i guess i'm going to have to wait, then? that's fine with me. i'm willing to wait." after a moment of silence, her smile grew wider. "i think i'd sail across an ocean for you, rey."

"don't push it," reyna said, and they both laughed, knowing she was joking. and this - watching piper throw her head back and laugh so loud and so sweet - this was what adelina had felt like, she was sure, in that play.

that feeling - of not just willing to bear everything for someone, but to want to. to want to give. to want to love. she didn't have to. she didn't quite love piper yet. but the girl was just so loveable, and -

she didn't love piper yet, but she would. someone like her was inevitable. 

the song changed again, and piper gasped. "this is it! our song!" and reyna blinked at the familiar intro of _strawberry blond._ "finally, i get to actually dance. what a coincidence, right?" she bounced on the heels of her jelly flats and held out her hand, bowing. "may i have this dance?"

reyna stared at it for a moment before smiling. how far she'd come, and yet this wasn't the end. this wasn't even the middle. there were more things to come - love and light and happiness - and as long piper was there, reyna would be, too.

this was only the beginning, and reyna, for one, couldn't wait to see what the rest of their play would be like.

"you may."

★彡

_look at you, strawberry blond..._


End file.
